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We have a really nice email from the Engineers who were in Baghdad that just arrived.

Because they are now home, I am disclosing the unit and some names.

Thanking you all for prayers and good wishes. The treadmill went well today (don't have scan results yet), so I am hopeful that my pains are "just" an ulcer from the new arthritis medicine. Still having some little moments of misery so your prayers and good wishes have been very much appreciated.

Now for the email:

Dr. ***, ** and ** ***,

Aloha from the 411th Engineer Combat Battalion! On behalf of our 600 Army Reservists, I want to thank you again for all the support and prayers you provided to us while we were in Baghdad, Iraq in Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Please share this e-mail to all the Merry Band of Patriot heroes out there.

Three weeks ago, we arrived back in Hawaii where we are undergoing outprocessing to release us from active duty back to our civilian careers. It has been a long, tough year but we have many things to be thankful for - our families, the community support, and our employers. We deployed with soldiers from three Hawaiian Islands (Maui, Oahu, Hawaii), Alaska (Fairbanks and Anchorage), Guam, American Samoa, and 29 other U.S. States. As we outprocess from Hawaii, we are sending our soldiers back home to reunite with their families.

Most of all, I truly believe our work in Iraq will lead to a better Iraq. We were a major part of the Transfer of Sovereignty from the former Coalition Provisional Authority to the Iraqi Interim Government in June 2004, and the first free Iraqi elections on January 30, 2005. We helped reinforce Iraqi police stations and election polling stations which led to a historical election that selected the National Assembly responsible for continuing to form Iraq's new government and constitution. During the course of our deployment, we convoyed over 300 times through central Baghdad. Guardian angels were watching over us - we brought everyone home alive - however four soldiers received Purple Hearts for injuries during enemy contact. Two of them were more seriously injured by a roadside bomb and are continuing to recover at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. and back here in Hawaii - but alive.

Before we left Baghdad in March 2005, we were replaced by the ***. They are an active duty unit under ***. We turned over all the things you sent to us so that their soldiers could benefit and enjoy during their off-time. Their mailing address is the same as our address when we were there. The battalion commander is ****.

If you have a chance, please visit our Battalion website at http://www.411engineers.us to see all the reunion pictures. Some of the sections are password protected. You'll also see a few pictures of me too.

I don't know if we will ever be able to meet someday, however, if you visit Hawaii in the near future, please send me an e-mail and we'll try to link up.

Again, thank you all to your team of teams - the Merry Band of Patriots!

Respectfully and with Aloha,

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Wung
U.S. Army Reserves
Commander, 411th Engineer Combat Battalion
"The Hammerhead Battalion"